Perry Mason and the Case Where Della solves the Murder
by susan cousineau
Summary: This is another story about my favorite criminal lawyer Perry Mason. He is going to defend a man accused of killing a man by tampering with a motorcycle.
1. Chapter 1

The past few days had been a blessing. Della and Perry had arrived back at their new home and had spent the days decorating and getting ready for the Christmas holidays. Della had always done her home up with lights and always had a tree. But this house was a special home. It was the home of her and her new husband Perry. It was large and soon there would be a new bundle of joy at their home. This was going to be their first Christmas together and their only Christmas alone.

Della made egg nog and together she and Perry had decorated the tree. The outside was done by a professional. The house looked nice and Della was proud of the way that the neighbors came over and complimented her on the decorations.

Christmas was just ten days away and this was the day of the office Christmas party. Perry always brought the people of the office to the Kavanough and this year was to be no different. Perry prided himself on his generosity and liked it when the ladies of the office opened their yearly Christmas bonus.

Della had been working all day getting things ready for the party and was glad when Lori showed up to help her out. There was more work than she thought and she was glad to have the company.

Darren Goodwin was a man who loved to gaze at the stars. He had a telescope ever since he was nine years old. That year his parents had bought him one for Christmas. He was now able to identify many of the stars and liked to watch them twinkle in the sky.

He had been married for the past three years. Up until last night he had thought that his marriage was a good one. But here just a few days before Christmas his wife had left him a note telling him that she was leaving him for another man. The man that she had left him for had been his co worker Jim Clemmons. Darren had never thought ill of the man and thought that he was a man of pride. But he had been seeing his wife Lydia for about four months according to the note that his wife had left him that morning.

Oh the thoughts that had gone through his mind that day. He had gone from hurt to mad and then hurt again. Lydia had left him and their two small children Ned aged eight and Simon aged six alone without a mother. He had then gone back to angry again. But he now had two boys to take care of and he was going to do the best he could.

Jim and Lydia were going to stay in the city and make their home just three miles away. His wife wanted visitation rights but could not take the children at this time. She had told Darren that he should keep the children and let them stay at the house that they had lived in for the past nine years. Her home was going to be smaller and in a different school zone.

If the three adults kept their heads on straight, Darren was sure that everything would work out all right. Lydia and him had always been good parents and their sons had always come first. Time heals all wounds.

Back at the Mason office things were getting lively. Everyone was excited about the party that night. They would all go home and put on some of their best clothes and head out to a wonderful night of food and dancing. Every year they got a good bonus check and hoped that this year would be no exception.

Della had invited all of the girls from the office to come and see Perry and her new home. She told them to just give them a call and if they were home they would be welcome to come on over. Most of them had gone by the home and had seen how it looked from the outside. The home was large and very nice. They all wished the newlyweds the best as the two of them were such nice people.

The dinner was wonderful and they all partied and enjoyed the night. Each one of them danced with each other and Perry made sure that each and everyone of them got to dance with him. When they were each given the bonus check of one thousand dollars they thanked and hugged both Della and Perry. The night ended at just after one and Perry and Della joined the rest of them in going home.

It was a Friday night and no one would have to be in until Monday. Della went upstairs to get ready for bed while Perry went to the kitchen to get himself a drink. 'Married life is bliss' he thought to himself. As he sipped his drink he smiled at the house that he was standing in. He knew that Della was tired and headed up to the bedroom to be with her. They both crawled into bed at about two am.

Each day was a wonderful new day at the Mason household. Today Della and Perry were going to go over to Lori's house and spend some time together. With the case that they had just had in Massachusetts they had not had a chance to spend an entire day together in months.

When they arrived at the house Mike was out cooking up some steaks. It was a little chilly, but he did not mind. Lori had said that she a hankering for a steak and he was glad to cook it. Mike could not wait for the baby to come. They had finally made it to the twenty-second week and they had been to the doctor's for the ultra sound. They were going to have a little boy in about sixteen weeks now.

They had wanted to tell Della and Perry the news in person. They knew that Paul and Sue were having a girl about a month before their son was due and Della and Perry would find out what they were having soon. Della was about seventeen weeks along and was due to go back to the doctors in three weeks. They would know what they were going to have at that appointment.

As Della and Perry walked into the house, Della was surprised at how large Lori had gotten. In the past week she had really started to show. It might be the clothes she was wearing but you didn't have to ask her if she was pregnant or not all you had to do was to look at her. Della looked down at her tiny little tummy and Perry put his arm around her waist and smiled "you too will start to show soon." and with that he gave her a kiss on the top of the head.

The four of them spent the day playing cards and watching a hockey game. They all ate the steaks and potatoes that Mike and Lori had made them. As she sat in the living room Della for just a second wished that she and Perry could have stayed at this house. The house still felt like it was her home, even though she and her husband had another home. This was Lori and Mike's home and she just had to get used to it.

Next month Sue was going to go out and buy things for the baby's room. Lori and Della could not wait for her baby shower because they both knew that it meant that their baby would be coming soon.

Now Lori and Mike were going to have a baby boy. Della and Perry were so happy to hear about this. They all hugged and kissed each other. "So are you going to make it a junior?" Perry asked them.

That was when Della realized how much her husband wanted to have a little boy. A little boy that could grow up to be Perry Mason Jr. She put her hand on his arm and smiled. He smiled down at her with all the love that those large eyes of his could give.

Mike spoke up and smiled. "Yes we think that there will be a Mike Junior in the house. It is not set in cement yet but I would love to have a Junior. We will see when he comes in April. You and Della will find out next month, correct? If you have a boy is it going to be a Junior?" he asked.

Perry had not really thought about it. But what father would not want a Junior. He looked down at Della and patted her arm "We have not discussed the subject yet. When we find out if we are having a girl or a boy we will then have to decide what to name him or her." he told them with pride.

After a few hours it was time for Della and Perry to leave and go back home. They promised each other that they would not become strangers and gave each other hugs. The family had a good together and they would get together soon Della knew it.

Darren Goodwin was surprised to hear from Jim Clemmons that Sunday. It seemed that he still had that motorcycle that he had offered Darren six months ago. He and Lydia needed the money and he promised that Darren could come over and buy it for just one thousand dollars. The motorcycle was worth at least double that money. Darren did not feel bad about getting the bike for such a low price. The man had stolen his wife.

Lydia had been true to her word and had taken the boys every weekend. She had gone to Ned's Christmas show and was going to be at Simon's. He knew that they did not have much money, so he decided to go over and look the motorcycle over once more.

When he arrived at the small house, he saw Jim outside cleaning the motorcycle up. It seemed to look good and when the engine was started it seemed to run well. He asked if he could take it for a ride and he was handed the keys.

Jim Clemmons thought that Darren would be right back, but he did not return. Simon and Ned were in the house with their mother and he was getting worried. Lydia came out and asked him "Didn't you just tell Darren that he could only take the car out for a short time?"

Jim shook his head. He was a little worried and when he heard sirens he became very worried. Lydia had gone back into the house and he decided to go and see what the sirens were about. He got in his car and as he rounded the corner just two blocks from his home he saw the accident. Darren had slid on a corner it looked like and was being taken into the ambulance.

Jim got out of his car and went right over to the officer that was standing there. He told the officer that this man was his girl friend's ex husband and that he had been trying out the motorcycle.

The officer looked at the man and took out his information. "The ambulance is taking him over to County General, if you want to go get your girl friend and her children, it might be a good idea. It does not look good."

That is when Jim gave Lydia a call and told her what had happened. When he arrived back at the house Lydia and her two boys were outside waiting for him. They rode to the hospital as fast as they could. When they arrived at the emergency room they were asked to take a seat and wait that the doctor was with him then.

The lady at the emergency room was very nice and she asked them to come and take a seat in a private room. Both Jim and Lydia knew that this was bad news but they took Ned and Simon's hands and walk into the room with their heads held high.

Darren had been severely injured and had a skull fracture a partially severed leg and many fractures of the ribs. He had slid several feet before stopping when he hit a stop sign. He had not gained consciousness but there was hope. He was down at x ray having xrays and an MRI. They would come and get them when they had the results.

Everyone sat in the tiny waiting area until the doctor came in. There had been nothing that they could do for poor Darren he had died before he got to the hospital. The paramedics had managed to bring him back but his heart stopped two more times and the last time they had not been able to get his tired heart beating again.

Lydia was heartbroken and her sons just sat there and cried. 'How could this happen? He was just there speaking to her not ten minutes before he left. They were going to the Christmas show the following day.'

Simon did not understand everything but Ned did and he started to cry and cry. Of course the two boys were going to be staying at their house. Lydia would take care of them as she always had.

The next few days were a blur at the house with two boys. They had the wake and the funeral to attend. The police had so many questions about the motorcycle and everything. It seemed as though they were always coming over about something. Lydia was starting to wonder what was going on.

Because Lydia and Jim had little or no money she had gone to see a legal aid worker about her impending divorce. The attorney at the local legal aid office had been very helpful and now she had to call her to stop the proceedings. When Lydia got off the phone she felt a little better. Because nothing had been done as of yet about the custody of her two boys when Darren died she would get full custody.

Carol Jones was sorry to hear about Lydia's husband. She had met with Jim and Lydia a few weeks before and he had seemed to be such a nice person. Lydia was nice also, she just no longer loved her husband. She did love the two boys, though and the two people had acted like adults about the whole situation.

Attorney Jones looked around her office and the stacks of papers that she had to do. She had wanted to become a criminal defense attorney when she had first gotten her license to practice law. She had even met the famous Perry Mason and had spoken to him in length about some of his cases. She thought that she might someday become a criminal attorney but for now she was working legal assistance. It was very low paying and had no benefits, but she did like her job most of the time.

Jim Clemmons was a little worried now. The police had just left once again and this time they had asked him whether or not he was having a problem with the carburetor. They said that it had stuck on Darren that morning and most likely was the cause of the accident. He had never had a problem with the motorcycle before that morning. But that morning when he started the motorcycle up, he had thought that it was running a little rough. That was why he was working on it when Darren got to his house.

It was just a few days before Christmas and the Mason office was busy. This year Christmas fell on Wednesday so Perry had decided to close the office for the week. It was in the middle of the week and many of them had family coming over to their house or they were going to see family in another town. They would have to close Monday and could not open until Friday anyways. This gave Della and Perry time to spend together too.

Della was busy wrapping gifts when Perry and Paul walked through the door that evening. They were all smiles and took a seat in the family room. She knew that they must have been out shopping. It was something that they did once a year together. But she didn't see any packages and she wondered where her husband and Paul had hidden them. She thought that maybe they were hidden at the office.

She kissed her husband as he came into the kitchen "Oh something smells good Della. We are both starved." he told her as he kissed her gently on the top of her head.

"We are having chicken mashed potatoes and peas tonight" she told them with a smile. She knew that was one of Paul's favorite meals and she did not see him at her house enough. Sue had gone off with her sister to do some last minute shopping herself and probably would not be home until after the stores closed.

The two men went into the family room to have a drink and relax. Della loved her kitchen, she could see everything that went on in the family room and her husband and Paul could talk to her. She also could see the television from in there and watch some of her favorite shows.

The dinner among friends was great and Perry could not wait to give Della her present. He had bought her a fur coat, a full length fur coat. He knew that she had always wanted one. He smiled as he thought of how surprised she was going to be when she opened the package. He looked over at his wife and for just a second thought that he could finally see the bump in her stomach that she so desperately wanted to see. He thought to himself 'I hope that she can wear the coat that I bought her. She is starting to show.'

It was great having Paul over for the evening. Sue and Paul were invited the party that they were going to be holding on Monday evening. They had invited Lori and Mike Sue and Paul Dave, Perry's brother and Gerty and her fiancée. They did not want too many people and there were going to be nine of them and that was enough.

Della had been planning the party for weeks and was going to have a caterer come and help her out this time. With the caterer she would not have to keep on getting up to serve people. She also could get dressed up and ready for when the guests arrived. She had bought a dress just especially for the party. When she had gone to buy the dress, she had found out that she was indeed getting a little bump. She did not need maternity clothes, yet, but soon. She had to go up two sized for the dress to fit right. She smiled to herself as she thought of herself big and pregnant.

Perry came into the bedroom to find his wife standing in front of the mirror looking at herself. From the side she actually did look as though she might be pregnant. Della was such a thin person that she was going to show early especially when she had clothes off. He came up to her and kissed her passionately. "My love, you do have a little bump now. I cannot wait for our baby."

"Do you mind if it is a girl? I know that you want a boy, but it might be a girl." Della asked him.

"I do not mind really. Just make him or her healthy. I love the baby already." and with that he put his band on her belly. It was a little belly nothing like what he had. It seemed that every year he gained another ten pounds. Once he was sure that this cigarette thing was over he was going to concentrate on losing weight. It had been four months since he had quit smoking and he nearly never had a craving for one anymore. But now with the holidays there was no way that he could stand to be on a diet.

Monday night came soon enough and the guests came right on time. They liked Gerty's fiancée and Perry was glad to see Dave. He hadn't seen his brother but once since the wedding day. He was going to be staying at their house until the following Saturday. Della was glad that Dave was able to come over. She had offered to have him stay in the pool house but he had opted to stay in the main house with she and Perry.

It was amazing how much chatter goes on between nine friends. They ate a delicious meal and for once no one had to get up and get the food, or check on it. Della did not have to lift a finger, dishes everything was done for her. The kitchen was as clean as she kept it when they left that night. They all went into the family room and visited for a while, but soon it was the women over in one corner and the men in the other.

Della smiled at Perry as she watched him talking to his friends and was glad that he was getting this chance to socialize without having to worry about anything. Christmas was the day after tomorrow and she was going to pick up his special order that she had gotten for him. She had one of the photos of the baby's ultra sound put into a sterling silver picture frame with the engraving baby Mason joining us in May. She hoped that he would like it. The man had everything that anyone could ever want or need.

Back at Lydia and Jim's things were very different. The boys had just lost their dad. When Lydia and Jim had gone to his and the boys rooms to get some of their things in the closet they found the boys presents. Darren had wrapped them and on the cards they said love daddy. She knew that this was going to be tough on the boys but they needed to get one more present from their dad, so she just left the presents alone. The boys were not going to be going back to school until after the winter break. They had just lost their father and they needed time to heal.

Christmas morning was hard for Ned and Simon. They opened their presents from their father first. They had both asked for a Tonka dump truck, and that is what was in their packages. Ned teared up but did not cry and Simon just asked if the present was really from his daddy.

Lydia and Jim felt so sorry for their young sons. Jim knew that he was going to have to step up and be a dad to the two of them . He loved them and Lydia very much and he was determined to do the best that he could.

Della woke up Christmas morning to find Perry already up and getting dressed. He was like a child. He wanted to go downstairs and open presents. Della did not feel right going downstairs in her nightgown so she got dressed and then went downstairs with Perry.

When Della opened the present from Perry she cried. It was a beautiful mink coat and it was floor length. She put it around her and smiled. The coat was tight. 'Yeah' she thought to herself.

Perry panicked 'Was it the wrong size?' he wondered. No Della was just starting to show. Dave smiled at the two love birds that were seated on the divan. He hoped that someday he would meet a girl like Della. Della was pretty kind and completely in love with her husband.

When Perry opened his gift the tears just welled up in his eyes. Della had the baby's ultra sound put into a picture frame. That picture was going to be on his nightstand forever. They kissed and hugged each other and smiled at their little bundle.

Lori and Mike came over for Christmas dinner and everything went wonderful. They sat around the tree and listened and sang some of the Christmas songs. The turkey came out very good and Lori had made an apple pie that was delicious. The day was a complete success.

At the home of Lydia and Jim's the atmosphere was all right. Darren's parents stopped by and gave the boys their presents. They spent some time with the boys and left. The atmosphere at the house was still very somber, and they did not feel much like celebrating.

But everyone managed to get through Christmas and everything looked fine. After everyone left Perry and Della sat down and took a deep breath. They were so happy. Perry put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in tight to him. "Thank you again for your gift and the wonderful day that we had. This is our first Christmas together as man and wife and I wanted to make it special." he told her as he hugged her even tighter.

"Oh Perry thank you for making my Christmas so special. I love you." she told him and with that they went upstairs to their beds. Dave had retired to his room and as they went by they could hear the television.

It was Thursday the day after Christmas and Lt Tragg was looking at the mechanic's report on the motorcycle that Darren Goodwin had been on. The bike had been tampered with. It was a miracle that Darren hadn't been killed before he did. Not only had someone put sugar in the gas tank, the handlebars had been loosened. Everything pointed to Jim Clemmons. The motorcycle had been in his garage and he had called Darren to his home to try out the motorcycle. The only fingerprints on the motorcycle's were Darren and Jim's. He was going to have to swear out a warrant for the arrest of Jim Clemmons.


	2. Chapter 2

Jim Clemmons had not had a good Christmas. He had married his new wife knowing that she had two boys and had accepted them into his life. But now the two happy boys were sad with the death of their father. They had all attended the funeral and now had the dubious task of picking up the things from the house that had once belonged to Darren. The house was larger than the home that they had, but Lydia did not want to move into the house with the boys and he didn't blame her.

The home that they lived in was large enough. It had two bedrooms and they boys did have their own room . Because Darren and Lydia were still married all that he had was hers. It made thing uncomfortable for them but that was the law. Lydia handled the situation with grace and allowed Darren's family to take whatever they wanted from the home. She was going to put the home up for sale soon.

Ned and Simon had been wandering about the house in a trance. Christmas had been a very mellow day and no matter what Jim and Lydia had done they did not do much smiling. When they opened the gift from their father both boys had hugged their trucks. They had both gone to their room and had shut the door. When Lydia had gone into the room she had found them sitting on their beds hugging their trucks.

The motorcycle had been something that Jim had always wanted, but he and Lydia had needed the money. Now apparently Jim had died In the accident from a faulty mechanical error. He had not wanted to tell Lydia but he was worried. The police had been there several times and he was sure that they suspected that he had done something to the bike in order for it to break down.

Meanwhile at the Mason household Della and Perry were waking up to the crisp air of a December morning. The weather in LA was usually a lot warmer, but a cold front had come into the city and the temperature was now in the forties. Della wrapped her robe around herself and shook as he hurried into the warmth of the bathroom.

Perry was in there getting ready for the day and he smiled at his wife of just four months and gave her a kiss. Della could not think of kissing him while she still had morning breath. But he didn't seem to care and she just put her head on his shoulders. He felt so warm and good to her she just melted and relaxed.

The tree was on for the day and Della went downstairs to make coffee. She finally could stand it once again. In fact she enjoyed her first cup of coffee in the morning with her husband. She made dinner and went about the house cleaning while Perry went into his study to do some more work. It had been a quiet day and they both enjoyed the quiet and the time together alone.

As Jim looked out of his front window he saw the police cars coming up the road. There were three of them marked and one car that was unmarked. As the police walked up the walkway to his home he knew that his time had come. Lt Tragg was kind about it but Jim Clemmons found himself under arrest for Darren Goodwin and he needed a lawyer.

His parents used a lawyer by the name of Perry Mason before they had been killed in an automobile accident two years ago. He now needed the famous attorney and hoped that he would remember him and accept him as a client. Before he left with the police he asked Lydia to give Mr. Mason a call. They both knew that Perry Mason was the best lawyer that they could have to defend Jim on the charge of murder.

Perry was at his desk in the study when the call came in from his answering service. Yes, he remembered Jim Clemmons. He had been a very young man the last time that he had seen him. He went out to the kitchen where Della was making him some lunch and told her of the news and the arrest of Jim. Della remembered him well also. She was sorry to hear of his arrest and watched her husband leave eating his sandwich as he went out to help someone in trouble once again.

As Perry entered the police station he was met by Lt Tragg who led him to where they were holding Jim. Perry looked at the young man and they shook hands. He waved to the police officer and asked him to wait outside. Perry then took a seat and asked Jim what had happened.

Jim told him everything that had happened that day. "He was trying out the motorcycle before he bought it. After he had been gone what seemed a long time, I went out looking for him. That is when I came upon the accident. I don't know what happened to the bike. It has been out in the garage for the past three weeks and has not been touched. That morning it ran a little rough, that is why I was working on it. I thought it had bad gas or something. When Darren left everything appeared to be fine. I was not worried." he told Perry.

"Is your garage locked? Would anyone have access to the motorcycle?" Perry asked him.

"It is locked most of the time. But about four days before the accident when I came home I found the door fully open. I just thought that Lydia had forgotten to close the door when she went out and thought nothing of it." Jim told him.

"I believe you. Unfortunately, you will not have a bail hearing until tomorrow morning. Do not speak to the police without me present and I will start an investigation into your case. Do not worry." Perry told him and left for home once again.

It was nice to pull into his own driveway and be met by the woman that Perry had fallen completely in love with. Della was a kind smart and generous woman who had made his life whole. He was whistling as he came into the home. He looked around and didn't see her until he went into the family room. He found her sleeping on the couch. She looked so pretty sleeping there he wanted to kiss her. But there was no need for him to wake her up so he went into the study to call Paul.

Paul Drake was home enjoying the day after Christmas with his family. Paul Jr was outside with a couple of his friends playing with some of their new Christmas toys and Sue was in the kitchen trying out her new food processor that he had bought her. He was not surprised to hear the phone ring and it be his friend Perry. There had been nothing going on for the past few days and that situation did not ever last long.

Perry was glad to hear his friend's voice and told him of the situation. "I want to know everything about the motorcycle and what could have happened to make the motorcycle a danger to ride. I need to check who would have something in for Jim Clemmons and for Darren Goodwin. Either one of the men could have been the target, but it seems that it is more likely that the target was Jim not Darren."

Paul said that he would get right on it. As Perry looked up he saw Della standing there. She looked a little tired, but she wanted to know what was going on. Della was anxious to get back to work herself.

Della went into action and started to type briefs and motions as Perry dictated to her what to do. They worked most of the afternoon away and by four they had finished with the motions. Perry was ready for court thanks to the help of Della once more. Court would be at ten the next morning. It was Perry's intention to get Jim Clemmons out on bail in the morning.

But it was time for supper and Perry thought that it would be nice for them to go out for a spaghetti dinner at their favorite place. Della went upstairs to freshen up and within the hour Perry and Della were seated down to have their dinner.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been nice to go out to eat at their favorite place. They had not been home from their honeymoon long when they had left for Massachusetts, so they had not been to their favorite places in months. The dinner was wonderful and the waiter was glad to have them back. He asked them about their honeymoon and all the exotic places that they had been to. "Someday I want to go to Hawaii" he told them.

It had been a long day and tomorrow was court. Perry Mason and his wife Della would find themselves in the courthouse once more defending an innocent person. Perry had not heard from Paul yet and was wondering what was going on. There were two possible intended victims in this case and it was a charge that someone had tampered with a motorcycle causing a death that made this case different. Perry was not very familiar with a a motorcycle. He had never been interested in mechanics. Paul did play around with a motorcycle once in a while, so this time he was going to have to depend on his fiends knowledge.

When they got home Della and Perry went to work checking up on anything that they could find on line regarding either Jim Clemmons or Darren Goodwin. Both men had facebook pages so they would start there. On line they found out where both men worked and who their friends were. Della had also found a site where she could find out who had unfriended each of them.

Darren was from LA and had two brothers Tom and Tim. Neither one of them seemed to be having a problem prior to their brothers death. The postings had all been sad and there were several pictures of the brothers together on the page also.

It turned out that Darren worked as an executive at a large advertising firm where he made a lot of money. He was in the middle of a big of a scuffle with a man named Jeremy Santos. The two men were fighting over a new position in the company. The position meant a huge pay raise and a guaranteed place in the higher up part of the company. The battle had been hard and bitter.

Della brought the information over to Perry who looked at it with an interesting eye. When he heard from Paul he wanted him to check out this man. Find out if he would have known that he was going over to the house of his ex wife and could he have had access to the garage and the knowledge to tamper with the bike. Della leaned over and gave her husband a kiss. He reached his hand up to his shoulder where she had her hand and held it tightly. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost midnight. With that he led his wife up to the bedroom for court would be long and tiring the next day.

When Della and Perry arrived at the court that morning they were glad to see Paul standing on the courthouse steps waiting for them. I am sorry that I did not get back to you earlier, but there has not been much to tell you. Everything looks as though it was not someone directly involved with the two families who did the tampering. This morning though, one of my men came across a neighbor who saw a man at the Clemmons home the other day. He said that he went into the garage and stayed there for several minutes. Because you can access the house from the garage he was not sure if the man went into the house or not. But the man said that he has never seen the man before or since. He was middle thirties blonde hair and about five foot ten and one hundred and eighty pounds. We are looking into who the man was. I also would like to talk to Jim and find out if someone was expected to be there." Paul told them.

"Good job Paul. I will address that issue as soon as we see Jim. Also there is a man that works with a man named Jeremy Santos who has been going after the same job at the company. There had been some real bad feelings there." Perry told him.

As the three friends walked up the stairs of the courthouse together Perry took Della's arm. The stairs were tall and long and he saw that they were becoming harder for her to negotiate . Soon it would be safer for her to come through the handicap access. He had always liked that access himself since he was usually carrying briefs papers and whatever when he went to the courthouse.

Jim Clemmons met them at the attorney waiting room and Paul talked to him about the man who had been seen in the garage. "That must have been the day that I came home and found the garage door open. There was not supposed to be anyone at my house that day and I don't think that I know anyone who would match that description. But I will check with Lydia." he told them.

Perry went over what was going to go on in court that day. "We will have you out this afternoon. You will not be allowed to leave the city without the courts approval, but you will be allowed to go home and stay with your family. Don't worry about anything. We will find out who is the murderer and you will once again be a free man." Perry promised him.

As they entered the courtroom they shook hands with both Hamilton Burger and Lt Tragg. The district attorney did not want to allow Jim Clemmons out on bail for any amount of money, but the judge saw Perry Mason's side and bail was awarded for the sum of one hundred thousand dollars. Lydia's parents came through with the ten thousand dollars cash that was required and they put up the house for the rest. Jim Clemmons was out of jail that afternoon.

Mark and Marcia Stevens had been friends of Della and Perry for many years. They had been devastated when their daughter had called. The sad thing was that they had loved their son in law Darren. It had been hard to believe that their daughter had left him, but they had grown to like Jim too. It had been a tough year for the family and they were both sure that Jim had nothing to do with the tampering of the motorcycle. They had been happy to put up the money for their new son in law and were grateful that Perry Mason had accepted him as a client.

Paul had headed right out of the courthouse to see if he could find the identity of the man who had been in the garage. But first he spoke to Lydia to see if she had any idea who the man was. "I don't think I know of anyone that fits that description. I will think on that."

Della and Perry headed back to the office to do some more work on the case. The office was busy and the phone had been ringing off the hook all day. The office was never very dull and the newlyweds went right to work together. Married or not they had been a team for a long time and they knew just what to do when there was a murder case for them to solve.

Della wanted to look a little further into the man who was going after the same job as Darren. It was there that she saw a young man who was in his thirties, but his hair was dark and he had glasses. He also appeared to be much lighter than the man who had been seen in the garage. So she went to other facebook photos. Each and every photo that the company had posted she looked at carefully. She did not find the man,. She then went on to the sites of both Jim Clemmons and Darren Goodwin. There were many photos to look over and she found nothing. So she then went to the pictures that Tom and Tim Clemmons had. She was getting desperate when she finally saw something. On Tim Clemmons wife's site she saw a man in a photo that could have been the man seen in the garage site. She copied the photo and gave it to Perry.

Perry Mason had been busy himself and took the photo and smiled. "

I need to know who this man is. Give Paul a call and send him a copy of the photo through his email. he told her.

The rest of the day was spent looking into other ideas. On the other hand Paul had been busy at Daren's office. He had spoken to Darren's secretary who was devastated by the murder and more than willing to talk. He had asked her if she knew anyone that fit the description of the man that had been seen in the garage and she did not. But she would ask around. She had allowed him into the office and Paul had checked it thoroughly and found nothing of interest. Of course, the police had been there first.

As five o'clock came and went Della and Perry found themselves still busy at the office. They did have the office at home, but they were busy at work and the time to go home could wait. Perry thought that they could go and get something to eat in around an hour. He asked Della if she minded and she showed him the pile of work that she was involved in. It was going to take all of the hour to straighten out her mess.

That night the two newlyweds went out to eat at a local steak house. There was no time to make dinner at home. Della was starved and after her dinner she felt revitalized and was ready for more work.

Perry looked over at his wife and smiled. She was right down to business and he knew that this marriage would work. They made a good couple and he loved her so much. She honored him with a child. A child that was due on his birthday May 21st. He could not wait for the day that he could hold his baby in his arms.

When Della and Perry finally got home they went right back to work. They had not heard from Paul, but they both knew that when he had something to tell them he would call. This was a big case with two possible intended victims and he needed to check every possibility.

The road and investigation for a murder suspect can be paved with sweat long hours and many twists and turns. As the days went by Jim Clemmons was getting nervous he had not heard much from his lawyer. So like a fool he had decided to do his own investigation. The neighbors that he had were a little nervous talking to a private investigator that worked for such a famous lawyer.

He asked a few of his friends if they had heard anything about the murder that might help him find out who had tampered with the car and so far had no luck. It was on the following Thursday evening that he ran into a man that he only knew as the older man that walked his dog. Jim went over to him and his dog and approached him on the subject. The man seemed surprised that Jim wanted to talk to him and as he sat down on Jim's front stoop he opened up. "Well, you know I walk my Sandy twice a day. It keeps me in shape and it makes her happy. Two days before the murder Sandy was very jumpy and when we approached your house I saw a man having trouble closing your garage door. He gave up and walked to his car. The one thing I noticed was that he and his friend seemed nervous."

Jim looked at the man and smiled. "So there was two men in my garage just two days before the accident? What did they look like? he asked.

The man thought for a moment and told him "

One of the men had dirty blonde hair and was just under six feet tall. The second man was mid thirties with black hair and glasses. I did notice one thing, the car they drove was one of those newer modern jobs. My eyes aren't what they used to be and I could not get the license plate." he told him.

Jim smiled and thanked him for his information. Dan Wells agreed to talk to Paul Drake if he wanted and gave Jim his number. With that Jim went inside and placed a call to his lawyer Perry Mason.


	4. Chapter 4

Perry Mason had arrived home when he got the call from Jim Clemmons. Any information is important and he had promised to let Paul know. As soon as he had hung up Paul walked into his office after giving it a one knock. This is when the three friends were the best. Della brought in some Lemonade and the three of them went to work going over the facts that they had on the case . Paul took a chair in the front of the desk while Della took her seat next to her husband and took out her notebook. It was a familiar scene just a scene at the house not at the office.

Paul took out his notebook and told them what he had found out. "According to the secretary there is no one that works at the office that fits the description of the man who was seen in the garage. I have been looking for the man, but so far have found nothing. I also have had a good friend of mine who has worked on motorcycles for the past ten years and he looked over the tampering issue. What was done to the bike was a simple thing. Anyone could have done the damage to the bike. All they had to do was to put sugar into the tank and loosened the kick stand. The bike should have not run with the sugar in the tank that is why it only got a short way. But loosening the kick stand was what killed Darren. When he went to turn left the kick stand dug into the road causing him to flip over. This would have been an accident if there had not been tampering with the gas tank." he told them.

"So perhaps the person had just meant to ruin the motorcycle and not hurt the rider?" Della asked him.

"That is what I have been wondering. Usually if there is sugar put in the tank the motorcycle would just die. The kick stand might have been loose anyways." Paul told them. "But to my amazement putting sugar in the gas tank is just something that has been told to people. Actually you could correct that problem by just replacing the filter. My guess is that whoever put the sugar in the tank was a real amateur. I think that they had no reason to murder anyone they just wanted revenge." Paul told them.

Perry put his elbows on the desk and thought for a moment. "We do have two people who were seen in the garage just two days before the accident. I am going to talk to Jim and Lydia again. The men might be two completely innocent men who had come to look at the motorcycle. Jim said that he had been trying to sell it, because he needed the money. He was selling it to Darren very cheap because Dan had the money and he needed the money then." Perry told him.

Paul took a sip of the good lemonade and shook his head in agreement "I am going to get to work on that angle right now. As soon as I find anything out I will let you know."

With that Paul left the home and Della and Perry found themselves alone in the office once again. Della looked up at her husband and knew that his mind was busy thinking of the different aspects of the case. She went on to her laptop and started looking for any ads for the bike on Craigs List or one of the many motorcycle sites. Della and Perry had been busy for about three hours when there was a knock on the door once more.

Della went out to the front door and was pleased to see Paul there once again. The two of them walked into the study and Paul took his seat while Della took her seat next to Perry. "I found the men. In all that has happened Lydia forgot that she did have a man coming to look at the bike on that day. That is why she had left the garage unlocked. She had not heard back from the man and figured that he just didn't want to buy it." he told them.

Perry looked at his friend and wife and smiled "All right so now we know. The person that is responsible for the death of Darren was probably just trying to damage the bike. We need to figure out who would have a reason to make the motorcycle unsellable. That is most likely the reason why the bike crashed." Perry told them.

Della knew that the case was now close to being solved. It was going to be just a short time before Perry and Paul figured out who did the murder, now that they knew why. She had a feeling about who the murderer was, but she wanted to do some more investigation herself.

Something in her womanly nature told Della that this was a woman who had done the dumping of the sugar in the gas tank. She told Perry that she wanted to go and see Lydia. Della wanted to have a heart to heart chat with the lady. Perry wanted to go with her but Della insisted that she speak to Lydia alone. Perry wondered what Della was up to but he would trust his life with the woman he loved. As she bent down to give him a kiss. He returned the kiss and asked her to be careful.

Della called Lydia and found that Jim was gone for the evening to a meeting and her sons were in bed. She asked if she could go over and talk to her for a moment. As she arrived at the home Lydia welcomed her in and offered Della a cup of coffee. As Della took her seat she knew that she had to have a heart to heart discussion with the lady that now sat in the chair in front of her. She knew that the person who had been responsible for the death of Darren had not intended to kill him.

Della spoke softly to Lydia and asked her if there was something that she wanted to tell her. "We know that the damage to the motorcycle was made so that the bike would not run. We also know that the person that tampered with the bike could be a woman. What happened Lydia?" Della asked her

Lydia had been carrying the guilt for too long. She burst into tears. "I thought that if I poured sugar down the gas tank that the bike would be just out of my hair. All Jim did was work on the darn thing. We have no money and the bike was costing us a fortune. I thought that if the engine was blown Jim would give up on it. I don't know what to tell you, I thought that if you put sugar in the tank the bike wouldn't run. But it did. I swear I don't know how the kickstand got loose. The bike was always breaking down." she told her.

"Lydia I am sorry and I know that you feel bad about what happened. But, you must go to the police and tell them the truth. If you don't Jim could end up in jail. I will talk to Perry and see what he can do to help you, but you have to tell the truth." Della told her.

Lydia looked down at her lap and nodded. Just then Jim came in from the meeting and Lydia asked him to take a seat. She told him what had happened and what she had done. He was shocked at what she was telling him. He had known that she hated the bike, but why did she let Darren take it out without telling them what she had done? "This is something that I am going to have to think about you could have killed me, you know." he told her.

"Don't you think that I know that ? When Darren crashed the bike I didn't know what to do. It never occurred to me that putting sugar in the gas tank could harm someone, I thought that the bike just wouldn't run." Lydia told him.

"Now we need to talk to Perry and see what he can do to help you Lydia. It was an accident and it was not intentional. Della picked up the phone and called her husband. Perry had been waiting impatiently by the phone and was glad when he saw her number come up on the caller id.

Perry came right over to talk to Lydia and Jim. The mood was very serious. Perry looked at the couple and promised them that he would do everything he could to help Lydia. She was most certainly going to be charged with something. I will work hard to make sure that you are treated fairly." he promised her.

The police were called and Lt Tragg came to the house. He had to arrest Lydia, as he had no choice. Tomorrow would be court and they would take it from there. Jim would be completely released when they went to court the next day. All in all things would work out all right.

As Della and Perry walked into their home together he hugged her tight. "I love you very much and now am proud of you. You solved the murder and got Lydia to confess. That was good work. "

With that they placed a call to Paul to let him know what had happened and then they got ready for court. Lydia was going to need a lawyer and Perry would defend her even though he knew that this person was guilty.

For the three friends it was off to helping another person with the rules of the law.


End file.
